Still Standing
by WinnieCocoaFlip
Summary: Julie watched the horrifying sight, and the few who were miraculously still standing. None of it was her fault, but the suffering she caused her ex-boyfriend was. And now, he's a victim. Now, even the hero can't save the day, because he's a victim, too. How was she one of the ones standing, anyway? Why were the six even doing this? Two-shot.
1. Still Standing ONE-SHOT

Julie watched the horrifying sight take place before her eyes. Few were left untouched. Those who were, were lucky… because _the six_ weren't able to get them all, weren't able to inflict the disease on them all. Julie happened to be one of the four still standing. Julie happened to escape when she hadn't even moved.

She looked around at the other stands, and then at the arena. She closed her eyes and repeated the phrase, _it's not my fault_.

It's not her fault that almost the entire arena is under the disease, or maybe influence.

It's not her fault that _the six's _real identities are… completely unbelievable.

It's not her fault that the tournament is completely ruined.

It's not her fault that… that _the six_ somehow managed to escape them and become _the six_.

She turned to her right at the two slumped over figures beside her. Her hand shook as she reached out for the latter one. Lightly touching the blonde hair under the baseball cap, Julie's eyes started to leak a few tears.

But, it's her fault that Billy is one of the victims. It's her fault that Billy's been suffering for the past several weeks. It's her fault that her ex-boyfriend lost terribly in the tournament.

Julie's hand backed away from the baseball cap and back to her side. She looked at the figure that lay between them.

And now, the hero can't save the day, because the hero is one of the victims. Dan is one of the victims.

And there's nothing that she, Mira, and the others still untouched could do about it.

* * *

**Authors Note: Much like "Cruel Reality", this one shot implies that there might be more, but it can stand alone. I will not add more unless someone requests it because I still have 3 stories in-progress. I've had this idea for a big story for the past few days, and this was the best I could do to reduce it to a one-shot. **


	2. Prologue

**Bakugan: Still Standing**

Prologue

* * *

Dan stood in the place everyone knew as Bakugan Interspace. It had been about a year since the Battle Brawlers helped save New Vestroia and defeat Zenoheld. Things changed quite a bit since then. As Dan took a seat beside his friends at a table, he looked back on the previous year.

* * *

The first thing that happened was the creation of Bakugan Interspace. He, Shun, and this guy named Ren Krawler helped Marucho create it after the adventure in New Vestroia. Brawling had returned to Earth since then.

* * *

Shortly after the creation of Bakugan Interspace, Billy Gilbert and Chan Lee had stopped by Marucho's house before they went to visit Klaus on Vestal. Upon hearing that Klaus was going exploring on New Vestroia with Billy and Chan to find Harpus, Preyas and Elfin had tagged along, going home to New Vestroia after saying goodbye to Marucho.

* * *

Runo, Julie, and Alice still stopped by Bakugan Interspace even though they were technically veterans. Of the three, Alice was the only one who still participated in brawls, but Runo and Julie occasionally came with their partners to watch brawls or chat. Alice only stopped by during holiday breaks, particularly over the summer, but Runo and Julie alternated between every other week.

Their other old buddies stopped by as well, but not as often. Dan and Marucho were there nearly every day for obvious reasons. Komba O'Charlie was the only other one of their friends who came close to coming to Interspace as often as Dan and Marucho. The Ventus user got back into brawling upon Bakugan Interspace's opening, and typically came four days a week, when he didn't have any other commitments. Shun, however, stopped coming after the first week for unknown reasons. Shun had went MIA as soon as he got #1 on the board, and Dan still hadn't managed to surpass him. The Pyrus user held a grudge against the ninja for this.

Everyone not already mentioned by name only visited once, on Marucho's birthday. Marucho and his family threw the biggest bash of the year on the kid's birthday, right in Bakugan Interspace. Everyone the kid knew was invited, and almost everyone came. One of the only exceptions being Klaus, for the reason of his booming business in Vestal. Shun had even stopped by, although the memory wasn't anything close to pleasant for Dan. The ninja had come in wearing his ninja gear and left almost immediately, after he dropped off his gift. The only reason why people even knew he was there was because Dan caught and confronted him, only to have the ninja lecture the Pyrus user and escape. Dan didn't even remember what Shun had been so upset about.

* * *

Dan's mind wandered, and recalled the adventure that happened prior to Marucho's birthday. Ren, an alien from Gundalia, had told the brawlers that Neathians were invading his planet, and convinced them to help him. A bunch of "Neathian" agents had come to Interspace to get the Battle Brawlers to help them invade Gundalia, and Ren convinced the brawlers to battle them. Turns out, the "Neathian" agents were really Gundalian and had come to convince the brawlers to help them invade Neathia, alongside Ren. A real Neathian, Fabia Sheen, was the one to reveal the truth to the Brawlers and convince them to help her out.

Dan, Marucho, Fabia, and Komba were naturally four of the six Brawlers at that time. Julie, who had been visiting, was forced to join the Brawlers again after getting involved in a battle in order to help them save Neathia. After Ren's teammates perished by their own masters, Ren joined the brawlers. The six of them defeated the bad guys, a group of people called the Twelve Orders.

* * *

Dan brought himself back to reality to see Marucho and Runo sitting at the table on his right, talking. He casually looked around and saw Komba entering the arenas. Dan turned to Runo, and joined their conversation by asking, "Hey, so what're you guys talking about?"

The two turned to Dan and Runo replied, "Marucho was making a big deal about a secret surprise happening at the next tournament." She added, "It's supposed to be huge."

Dan perked up as soon as he heard that and said in excitement, "Sweet, there's going to be another tournament?! It's about time. I've been waiting so long for this!"

Marucho pushed his glasses further up on his nose and remarked, "You mean two months." The blonde kid gave a smile similar to a smirk as Runo started giggling.

Dan responded by waving it off with an unamused expression, saying, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." As Marucho walked off to take care of business, Drago and Tigrera continued talking with Runo. Dan's thoughts recalled how the tournaments started.

* * *

The week after his birthday, Marucho put up posters advertising Bakugan Interspace's first organized Bakugan tournament at the end of the month for anyone who wanted to participate. Dan, Komba, and Alice participated in said tournament, and it was a huge success. Since then, there have been seven different tournaments rotating each month: an all-around tournament, and one for each attribute. The last tournament had happened two months ago, and was for Darkus users, so Dan was deprived for a good tournament battle.

* * *

"Hey Runo, when's that tournament Marucho mentioned?" Dan currently asked, interrupting Runo's conversation with the Bakugan.

Runo smirked, "Itching for a good brawl, aren't you, Dan?" In a less teasing tone, she replied, "Marucho didn't give any specifics. It's supposed to start sometime next week."

Dan's expression fell and he messed up his hair in frustration as he said, "Oh, come on! I can't wait that long!"

Runo raised an eyebrow, "But its Friday, next week starts in three days."

Ignoring Runo's response, Dan commented in an attempt to be positive, "Well, I guess we can always just head over to the arenas and battle."

A short Ventus brawler sat himself down at the table, and bluntly replied, "Too late, all the arenas are full." Komba snickered as he watched Dan collapse comically in disappointment. As Runo helped Dan up in an equally comical fashion, Komba asked her, "He that excited about the tournament?"

A figure laughed as he approached the table, "Sounds just like Dan." The three at the table turned to see a tall, muscular teen with blonde hair underneath a baseball cap sitting himself down in the last remaining seat at the table.

Komba responded first, greeting his friend with a simple, "Hey, what's up, Billy?"

Billy shrugged and replied, "Nothing much."

With a cheerful smile on his face, Dan high-fived Billy and said, "Hey, Billy! Man, I haven't seen you since Marucho's birthday party. How've things been going since then?"

Billy leaned back in his chair casually and replied, "Things have been going alright. Just got back from a trip to somewhere in Asia." He made a face as he added, "Mom said it's going to be my last in a while, because I have to focus on school." As the guys continued to talk about Billy's adventures and school, not even the Bakugan noticed the scowl on Runo's face as she glared at the blonde boy.

Dan turned around in his seat to ask Runo for her opinion on the topic when he noticed the look on Runo's face, "Uh Runo, you okay?" Dan moved a bit closer to Runo and reached out a hand before he froze mid-way at her next words.

"What about Julie?" The blue-pigtailed girl's tone was cold, harsh, and accusing as she directed the question to the blonde, baseball-capped teen.

Billy was taken aback by the question, before his cheerful expression fell. He awkwardly stuttered out, "Uh, what about Julie?" Billy's face was then clouded with fear when Runo's expression started to look as if she would explode.

Runo, true to the boy's suspicions, exploded. Slamming her hand on the tabl,e and pointing the other at Billy accusingly, she shouted, "Oh, don't play stupid with me, mister! You little backstabbing, cheating, filthy rat! Who do you think you are, sauntering in here pretending to be our friend?! You were such a jerk, Julie was right to break up with you." Dan had jumped back in shock at the outburst and now looked at Runo in confusion at the last sentence. Billy's expression was a combination of shock, frustration, sadness, and speechlessness.

Whatever the case, Dan was now standing by Runo's side. He tried to get the girl to sit down again and calm down as he asked, "What are you talking about? What happened?"

To Dan's surprise, Billy was the one who answered his questions about what was going on. "I'll tell you what happened," he said with a quiet and sad tone. "Julie broke up with me six weeks ago when I was in Asia. We were video-chatting, when all of a sudden she's yelling at me saying that she hates me. She's been ignoring me ever since." He continued on, starting to sound a little angrier, "You want to know how frustrating it is to video chat with my friends and the person I like the most won't talk to me, listen to me, or even acknowledge my presence? I don't even know why we broke up, and I've been stressing over it since." By the time he finished, his elbows were propping his hands up as his hands grabbed his hair in frustration.

Komba patted his friend on the back while Dan and Runo stared, not knowing what to say. "It's true, you know" Komba added, facing Runo with an unreadable expression, "I've seen it firsthand. Those video chats get really awkward when they're there at the same time, especially when it's only the three of us." Cycloid nodded along, and Billy relaxed enough to let his hands fall back down to the table.

Dan took his seat once more and proceeded to ask, "Ok, so why haven't I heard about this until now?" The Pyrus brawler couldn't understand why he didn't know about something that had gone on for that long sooner, especially since even Drago had heard about it from Gorum the last time they met.

Komba said casually, "It's probably because Julie was unwilling to talk to anyone about it except Runo, and because you haven't been on video chat for the past two months."

As Dan complained that it was his parents' fault for taking away computer privileges, Runo spoke up once more, her voice quiet, "Billy, I think you need to talk it out with Julie." All of the attention was turned to Runo upon hearing her surprisingly gentle response. The blue-haired girl now knew both sides of the story, but chose the wise decision of letting the two sort things out on their own.

Billy was exasperated and replied, "But, she's ignoring me!"

Komba patted Billy on the back and said, "You'll figure something out." As the Bakugan gave their own words of encouragement, Dan decided to change the subject.

Dan asked the baseball-loving teen, "Hey, so have you heard about the tournament next week? It's apparently going to be a really big surprise."

Billy perked up upon hearing those words. Smiling as he said, "Yeah, I've heard about the tournament. It's impossible not to, Marucho's had advertisements everywhere for the past two weeks. Cycloid and I can't wait. It's going to be awesome." Billy leaned back casually in his seat as he said this, and Cycloid nodded in agreement at the last part.

The others stared in shock at that, and Runo asked in her signature loud voice, "Wait, if Marucho's been advertising this for two weeks, then why did we just learn about it today?"

Dan was just as confused as he asked, "Yeah, and all he told us was that it was next week and special."

Billy looked at the expressions on the other's faces and looked genuinely surprised upon seeing that they really didn't know. The blonde looked around and saw employees just setting up advertisements for the big tournament. He came to the conclusion that Marucho waited until after he gained international interest to advertise it locally. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out 5 extra flyers and set them on the table as he said, "Well, I guess I'll tell you about it then." Adjusting his hat, he began to explain as the others looked over the flyers. "Unlike the friendly tournaments that have been happening over the past several months, this one's going to be huge. Marucho's expecting brawlers from all over the world and even from Vestal, Nythilon, and Gundylon."

"You mean Neathia and Gundalia" Drago corrected.

Billy looked at Drago and replied, "Uh, yeah, that's what I meant." He continued on, ignoring any other interruptions from his talkative friends, "Anyway, Klaus told me that Marucho's been getting special virtual arenas and virtual Bakugan from places other than, uh, Neathia and Gundalia. The tournament itself is a series of seven tournaments, spanning over a week. It starts a week from now on Friday, and the first one is the Aquos tournament. Ventus is the day after, Pyrus on Sunday, Subterra is the day after that, Heos is on Tuesday, Darkus is on Wednesday, and the winners of those 6 tournaments will compete on Thursday. Only the best of the best will be able to make it."

Dan was ecstatic, nearly jumping up and down in his eat from excitement, "Sweet, this is just the kind of action that I've been looking for! We're totally entering, right Drago?" Drago nodded, and gave a reply of affirmation.

"So how do we sign up?" Komba asked casually, playing with his new paper airplane made from the flyer. As the paper airplane hit someone on the other side of the room, Komba quickly faced the table once more and snickered.

Billy replied, "You come to Bakugan Interspace the night before at 9:40 PM sharp, no late arrivals. There, you go through a top secret process to battle for a spot in the tournament."

Dan leaned back in his chair and said, "Well, Drago and I are entering, what about you guys?"

"Cycloid and I are definitely entering," Billy replied.

"Harpus and I'll be there," Komba replied. Billy and Chan had reunited him with Harpus when the two came back from their trip earlier on.

Dan turned to Tigrera and Runo and asked, "What about you guys? Are you guys entering?"

Runo looked conflicted for a second, before she stuck her chin up and answered, "Of course not, Dan. Tigrera and I are veterans, we don't brawl anymore."

Dan shrugged and said, "True, but it's not like you're fighting to save a planet from mass destruction. It's just a tournament."

Before Runo could protest, Billy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, loads of current brawlers, and Bakugan, and even some veterans are all going to be entering. Jenny and Jules have been advertising it, Klaus and Sirenoid are even going to come all the way from Vestal with the others, and Fabian and Randy are going to come from their planets, too. You should totally come, it'll be fun."

"You mean Fabia and Ren" Drago corrected.

Ignoring Drago, Runo retorted, "But you said that this wasn't going to be a friendly little event!" Runo crossed her arms as she stubbornly added, "Besides, it's not like any of them actually said that they were veterans."

Tigrera caught Runo's attention and said, "Runo, you know that I'll support any decision you make, whether it's to watch or brawl. And if you choose the latter, I certainly won't mind participating. A tournament sounds fun, no matter if its not 'friendly'." Runo smiled and let Tigrera sit in her palm as she whispered a thank you.

"Don't worry" Komba reassured Runo as he made another paper airplane from another flyer, "You have a whole ten days to until registration for the Heos tournament starts, and that's plenty of time to decide." Runo nodded and gave another thanks, before the topic veered off into something casual.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the "front door" of Interspace, Marucho was telling a rookie the basics of Bakugan, brawling, and Bakugan Interspace. In the process, he couldn't help but notice how familiar the teen was. Disregarding the fact that the rookie knew nothing about Bakugan and brawling, the green T-shirt he wore (paired with jeans and sneakers), his attraction to the Ventus attribute, voice, and pink hair styled similar to Mira's was just too familiar. It was impossible for Marucho not to be suspicious.

As Marucho finished explaining how the wristband worked, the boy almost gave it back before Marucho insisted that he keep it. As the boy excitedly ran over to battle in an arena for the first time, Marucho remembered something. "Wait, I need your name for the scoreboards and records!" he shouted.

The boy turned so that he was running backwards and replied, "Its Lync Volan!"


End file.
